Col. Shamekia N. Toliver, Commander of the 42nd Air Base Wing at Maxwell Air Force Base, will deliver the keynote address to graduates during the spring commencement ceremony at Troy University’s Montgomery Campus on Wednesday, May 21.
About 118 graduates – 82 undergraduates and 36 graduate — are expected to participate in the ceremony, which is set for 7 p.m. in the Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts on the Montgomery Campus.
Col. Toliver leads all base operating, infrastructure, and services support for 42,000 active duty, Reserve, civilian, and contract personnel, students, and families at Maxwell AFB and Gunter Annex in direct support of Air University, 908th Airlift Wing, Air Force Materiel Command units, Defense Information Systems Agency and more than 40 other mission partners. As Maxwell’s installation commander, she partners with local officials across a three-county, 12-city region with an annual military economic impact of $2.2 billion.
Col. Toliver entered the Air Force in 1994 as an enlisted Airman; she was subsequently selected for the Airman Scholarship Commissioning Program and gained her commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Col. Toliver holds a Master of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of South Carolina and is a special experience identifier as a board certified and licensed Professional Engineer. She earned her bachelor’s degree Civil Engineering from the University of Texas San Antonio.
Col. Toliver has served at various base level and headquarters staff levels and has deployed multiple times in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with five oak leaf clusters, the Air and Space Commendation Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air and Space Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Army Achievement Medal, and the Humanitarian Service Medal with one service star.
Col. Toliver’s previous assignment was as Commander, 502d Installation Support Group, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
